Energy

EPA Tries To Hide How It Spent $350K On Just Two Conferences

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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The Environmental Protection Agency didn’t publicly disclose the more than $350,000 it spent on just two conferences, according to a government watchdog report, which violates federal rules requiring agencies to report conference spending of more than $100,000.

“The EPA did not always comply with reporting requirements,” the EPA inspector general’s office reported Thursday. “The EPA did not publicly report two conferences with $350,782 in conference costs as required.”

The IG found EPA classified its participation in two conferences on water management as as an attendee instead of a sponsor, despite the fact the agency spent $350,782 on exhibitions and conference planning for the two events. By classifying itself as an attendee and not a sponsor, the EPA avoided having to publicly disclose the huge amounts it spent on just two conferences.

The IG said “these conferences should have been classified as sponsored in the conference spending tool and reported publicly.” At one of the conferences, EPA “had direct involvement in the development of 11 sessions… funded on site contractor support, and provided technical expertise.” EPA’s technical director even helped with planning “in conjunction with the Water Environment Federation’s co-sponsorship agreement.”

The EPA spent $253,846 on the Water Environment Federation’s conference, but denies it had any sponsorship role in the event.

At another conference, the EPA spent $114,936 on expenses at the 9th National Water Monitoring Conference. The agency “entered into a contract for conference planning services including support for agenda development and logistics,” according to the IG.

EPA, however, claims it did not sponsor either of these conferences, therefore dodging the federal requirement forcing the agency to disclose the huge sums of money it spent at these two events.

“The EPA did not agree with the OIG’s interpretation that the agency was a sponsor for [the Water Environment Federation conference] in 2014,” according to the agency’s response to the IG report. “The EPA stated that it was not a sponsor of the.. conference because the EPA did not provide funding and was not shown in the sponsor section of [conference] materials.”

The IG’s office countered, arguing it “stands by its interpretation that EPA was a sponsor based on [the government’s] conference spending guide definition. The definition states that the EPA is a sponsor of an event if the agency provided funding or tangible support to a conference or appeared as a sponsor on any event materials, and tangible support is the provision of financial assistance, material goods or services.”

In total, EPA spent $11,315,047 on 227 conferences it hosted or sponsored conferences with costs over $20,000 in 2014.

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